Sister Parish, Inc.

Strengthening Community -- Across Borders as Brothers and Sisters




 

 

A Sister Parish relationship is not your average mission trip...

Sister Parish offers an inter-cultural faith experience and long term, transformative relationships between people in the United States and Central America. The goal of Sister Parish is to foster mutual understanding and a commitment to peace and justice among people.

To accomplish its goal, Sister Parish establishes linkages between churches in the United States and faith-based communities in Central America. The linkages are based on direct, person-to-person contact, with delegates living in each other's homes and sharing each others' realities.

Sister Parish participants travel as peacemakers, opting for and identifying with the poor, being one with Christ and thus reflecting the quality gifts of a shared spirit: a deeper faith, a broader vision, a greater understanding of important issues, and new relationships.

Our Philosophy

The Sister Parish model is based on two churches (or faith-based communities) committing to a long-term relationship, or hermanamiento, together as people of faith.

  

 

Hermanamiento is a Spanish noun that is used to describe the linkage or the relationship of becoming brothers and sisters together. It is a “sisterhood” and “brotherhood”. We use it in Sister Parish because it most accurately describes the relationship that is developed.
 

Sister Parish believes that these hermanamientos affirm dignity, deepen faith, reflect a shared spirit, build understanding of issues and give a new world view to both northern and southern churches. Sister Parish believes that we learn most from each other as brothers and sisters when we are able to experience each others’ lives in an intimate way: by living together in each others’ homes during delegation visits, and by breaking down traditional divisions between different religious traditions through worshipping together.

Central American Communities

The Central American emphasis on community, organization, family, and most of all, faith, is part of the richness that these communities have to offer their US counterparts. Most communities are poor by U.S. Standards and many have been forgotten or ignored by their own governments. They are the otherwise invisible people. Many communities do not have electricity, potable water, and live in substandard housing. We work with indigenous and ladino (mestizo) groups, and our communities are rural and urban.

  

Scroll to the right to view videos!

Across Borders - Part 1...

Across Borders - Part 2...

Testimonial...